


Stole My Heart

by Girlfriend_ScD



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: ??? niall, Art thief harry styles, Criminal Masterminds, Duke louis tomlinson, M/M, billionaire simon cowell, hacker liam payne, safe cracker zayn malik
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-26
Updated: 2015-05-26
Packaged: 2018-04-01 09:43:12
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,014
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4014964
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Girlfriend_ScD/pseuds/Girlfriend_ScD
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry was perfectly content to steal precious art and live the high life from the proceeds. All of that changes when he’s tasked with a team that consists of: computer hacker extraordinaire Liam and deft safe cracker Zayn to steal the world’s greatest diamond for notorious playboy billionaire Simon Cowell. He has no idea how they’ll be able to pull the heist off, especially with Simon’s clueless nephew Niall tagging along. The job made infinitely harder when the diamond’s current owner, His Grace Duke Louis Tomlinson IV, has the annoying habit of stealing his breath away.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Stole My Heart

**Author's Note:**

> Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan, and Zayn Malik are property of Syco…just kidding! I have no idea who has legal proprietary rights over the boys' image/likeness/etc...but I do know that it is not me. So any recognizable person(s) - including but not limited to: family members, staff, romantic partners, etc...- and their likenesses is used in a purely fictitious manner and I am not earning or collecting anything of value, monetary or otherwise.
> 
> As for any original content: any likeness, similarities, or resemblance to actual persons (living or dead) places, and events are unintentional and purely coincidental.

Harry sat in an expansive conference room with floor to ceiling windows overlooking Central Park in New York City. He didn’t know the name of the towering sky scraper, only that everyone wore Armani suits and drove six figure cars. The chairs were upholstered with Italian leather, the carpet the finest Burber, and the desk was a reclaimed door from a medieval church in Switzerland. At least that’s what the secretary that showed him in told him, the leggy brunette couldn’t help but sing the praises of every piece in the room. Her pride in the expensive decor apparent, her subtle disdain for him also obviouse as she took in his appearance and wondered what her exalted employer could want with him.

Harry felt like a pretentious asshole just sitting there in all the decadence, he already dreaded the meeting.

He helped himself to the wet bar after the secretary left, and poured himself a scotch into a lead crystal tumbler that probably cost more than the apartment he grew up in. His benefactor had not arrived, and no indication as to if he would be getting there anytime soon. He figured it was the perk of being a billionaire; punctuality was for the bourgeois.

He sipped the posh spirit and wondered what brought him there. What did a billionaire need with an art thief?

His musings were interrupted when he doors to the room were opened, and two unknown men walked in; both seemingly lost and confused to see anyone there.

Harry always thought of himself as particularly handsome, it helped him out of tight situations like at Paley. He remembered fondly how the security guard mumbled incoherently and blushed uncontrollably while he stole a Denis Hare.

But the two before him, he had to get ahold of himself or he feared he would act like a shy school boy.

The two beautiful men that came in stopped, unsure if they were in the right place. They certainly didn’t fit into the corporate business atmosphere. The brunette wearing a designer pea coat and buzzed hair, soulful eyes that looked deep into one’s heart. The raven haired beauty in a hoodie and covered in tattoos, his high cheek bones and searing eyes heating Harry’s blood. The tenseness in his body told Harry he didn’t trust most and was ready to fight if he needed to.

Harry certainly didn’t scream “CEO” with his leopard print shirt, tight jeans, and slicked back long curling hair. All three looked out of place, neither knowing what they were there for.

The three stood at a standstill, none of them sure how to introduce themselves or even where to start.

Harry certainly didn’t want to go “Hey, I’m an art thief. What are you doing here?” For all he knew, they were two lost uni students or someone’s kids waiting for their parents.

The two knew each other, from the side glances they gave each other and had an unspoken conversation on how to introduce themselves. Something told Harry that they were not exactly in a legitimate line of work either, but he would not be the first one to admit it if any of them were narcs.

All of that became moot when a cheery blond entered the room and introduced himself,

“Hi! I’m Niall. Are you lads here for the heist meeting?” Niall asked jovially with a thick Irish accent and looked at them expectantly, apparently either clueless or not caring what he just admitted to strangers.

The three went from sizing each other up to looking baffled. Clearly it was the kid’s first rodeo as there was an unspoken rule, or just common sense really, that no one admitted to anything until their sponsor arrived.

Which he did, an older gentleman in his fifties strolled in after the friendly bloke. Black neatly cut hair that was probably styled by a celebrity hair dresser, and a grin that said he was the most important person in the room. It was made further apparent when he addressed the four.

“Sit down boys, this will take a while.”

His accent told Harry he was from Southern England, perhaps in the Cambridgeshire or Hertfordshire area. His clothes said that he had expensive taste and was not afraid to let people know. His swagger could only be obtained from being told from birth that he was important and untouchable; the whole world was his, he just had to ask for it.

It took Harry a moment to realize that their benefactor was **the** Simon Cowell. The paradigm playboy billionaire whose sole job was to look pretty and enjoy a hedonistic lifestyle. Cowell was a household name thanks to gossip story after story that followed his exploits, the paps never getting a candid shot. Every photo that was plastered in magazines were of a self-assured man who was always put together; even when he was walking home after a raucous night with no less than half a dozen super models, he looked handsome and always donned the self-satisfied smirk of the cat who ate the canary.

So what did a billionaire need with a heist team that he couldn’t buy with his vast wealth?

They all took a seat at the absurdly large conference table, and waited for the leader of the group to start. They all had an idea of what they were going to do, general thievery, but did not know any specifics. That was how most jobs went even though Harry was usually a lone thief. Stealing what he wanted and selling just enough to pay for a decadent lifestyle and to get him through to the next job.

“So boys, you are going to break into the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. and steal the Heart of the Sky.”

Niall happily munched on some provided cheese crisps as if the benefactor mentioned the weather while the other three nearly choked on their own spit, and were wide eyed in surprise.

Harry was certain he had a stroke, because he thought he heard Cowell say he wanted them to lift **The** Heart of the Sky.

The art thief didn’t know anyone else’s specialty, but he knew they couldn’t be up to par for such a huge job because **no one** would ever have the balls much less the skill to steal such an infamous item.

The two who initially came in looked nervous, both having another silent conversation which Harry assumed included “This guy is totally mental” while the blond happily crunched on his snacks and looked pensive.

So Harry figured he would be the one to say what the others were thinking, or lacked thinking on the blond’s part.

“Sorry mate, but I think we misheard you. Did you say you wanted us to knick…?”

“The Heart of the Sky, yes. You heard correctly,” Simon finished for him, answering patiently, knowing what a huge endeavor he was presenting to them.

“ **The** Heart of the Sky?”

“Yes.”

“The largest flawless cut diamond **in the world**?”

“Ummhmmmm.”

“ **The** most protected diamond, in the highest security museum, in the political capital of the richest and most militaristic nation in the world? **That** Heart of the Sky?”

“That would be the one,” still as calm as ever.

Harry could go on listing the gem’s many attributes, trying to decipher if Cowell was serious and they were talking about the same precious jewel, but decided to end it there.

What the art thief couldn’t understand, besides the insanity to try to steal the world’s greatest and most well-known diamond, was why in the world would Simon Cowell want and do with it. The guy was already in the top ten richest billionaires (probably the first if rumors of hidden money no government officially knew about were true), it’s not like he needed the money. Secondly, no one in the world would have enough money to buy the priceless artifact in the first place. It was literally without price as no single actuary or accountant could ever dream of counting so high.

Unless, to go with the insane job, the insane motivation of stealing it just so Simon could possess it. It **was** rather sparkly.

It wouldn’t have been the first time he had a sponsor who wanted to steal a timeless art piece for the simple fact they wanted to own it. Never mind they could never hang it up in public view or ever sell it. He had a few of those himself, but he hung them with pride in his small London apartment; never being able to bring himself to hide away such works, and would be arrested on the spot if anyone recognized them for the priceless art pieces they were.

But with Simon, he could never: show, wear, or sell The Heart of the Sky. The jewel would lose its entire worth if he broke it down to smaller pieces.

It’d be easier for him to buy a diamond mine and find another gigantic diamond than steal The Heart for the Sky.

They all had questions and Simon was prepared with a presentation.

“As you know, the Heart of the Sky is part of a three piece “Heart” set. The Heart of the Ocean, which was referenced in the movie Titanic, a 46 carat deep blue nearly flawless diamond said to have been lost at sea but in reality sold at a private auction in 1996. Previous owners include Royalty and said to have been cut from the legendary French Blue. Heart of the Mountain, an almost luminescent giant precious opal which inspired the J.R.R. Tolkien Arkenstone, which otherwise bears the same name. Privately owned since the 1800’s, and hasn’t seen public view since then.”

The group watched the slide show with historical documents and last known pictures or portraits of the owners wearing the gems. Simon went through a little more of the stones’ histories before going into more depth about the jewel in question.

“The Heart of the Sky is largest flawless diamond ever found **_and_** cut, found in Hemmings’ Mine in South Africa in 1920; weighing in at just under 4,000-carats beating the previous record holder: the Cullinan. Local legend has it that a star fell from the sky one night, creating the mine and every diamond in it. The owner, Luke Hemmings, wanted the diamond to be mostly intact when cut, intending it to be a gift to George VI and dubbed it ‘The Heart of the Sky’ in reference to the myth. Normally such immense diamonds are cut into smaller stones as such large ones are unsellable due to price; as well as such large diamonds having no ability to be used as jewelry. Hemmings, however, wanted the distinction of not only finding the largest uncut diamond but producing a flawless cut one was well. He sought to have it be the premier of the Crown Jewels of England and make his mark in history. He commissioned to have it fashioned into a new Sovereign's Orb. There were a series of unfortunate accidents associated with the diamond as it was cut and polished, earning it a reputation for being cursed. The mine collapsed killing a dozen workers, the jeweler responsible for cutting the diamond, Callum Hood, committed suicide when he was finished. The note he left behind stating he’d never do such magnificent work again. The boat transporting the diamond sank, killing almost everyone on board save the hired guard to protect it. Luke Hemmings himself lost his entire family to a house fire, leaving him heirless while he lost every penny when the mine closed down. The Monarch refused the gift as its short but bloody history made it to his ears before it was presented to him. The gem then bounced around the nobility and even American elite throughout the 40’s, all meeting an unfortunate end. The current owner is the newly reigning Duke of Doncaster, Louis Tomlinson IV.”

The native Brits winced as the job was getting more and more crazy. Not only did Cowell want them to steal an impossibly secure gem, but it was owned by one of England’s most noble families; second only to the Howards.

The art thief was shocked at how handsome the Duke was as he took in the official portrait; piercing blue eyes, lithe but strong body, coiffed soft hair he wanted nothing more than to run his fingers through, and sharp features. He had seen, and seduced, his fair share of handsome noblemen, but he had never seen anyone as beautiful as Louis Tomlinson. The Duke was notoriously private and rarely made public appearances. He was probably the only noble in his twenties that no one knew anything about his personal life.

He looked at the last known photo of the gem instead of staring into deep blue diamond eyes, the picture bit grainy as it was taken in sometime in the 1950’s, donning Ethel Bittle; the biggest female movie star of the Golden Age and had it set into an intricate gold belt. It was never meant to be jewelry or worn, but the American actress was determined to do as such. The mammoth gem around her waist and almost as big, embodying the vast wealth and glamour of Hollywood. She disappeared under mysterious circumstances after telling reporters “I just want to be left alone.” All that was left of her possessions when she went missing was the diamond. Her children then murdered each other to get their hands on what was left of her estate, the diamond’s history went murky after that. Even Simon wasn’t sure how it went back to an English owner and into the Tomlinson coffers.

Harry desperately wanted to ask **why** Simon wanted the gem, but that’s not how things were done. The why wasn’t as important as the funds in thievery. Let the “why” be sorted out by the solicitors if he were ever caught. Normally Harry could not care less the motivation of the benefactors, he got paid either way. But given the circumstances, he needed a little more justification of going to such lengths for little actual reward for the sponsor.  

 “And you each will receive just compensation for your works,” Simon promised as he handed out cheques.

Harry’s eyes bugged out at the number in front of him, and suddenly why Simon wanted the Heart of the Sky no longer mattered. 

“This is your down payment for the job. You’ll get the other half once the Heart of the Sky is in my possession.”

The “why” super really didn’t matter anymore if the cheque he had in his possession was only **half** of what he would be paid.

“What are we going to do about the curse?” the blond who didn’t quit fit in asked, in all seriousness and particularly worried after Simon’s presentation.

Harry rolled his eyes, knowing the Irishman was speaking of the so called jinx of the gem. Certainly the Heart of the Sky had a horrid history, but that could be explained in the fact it was a priceless jewel that greedy people would do anything for in order to possess it. The boat was set aflame by someone trying to create a diversion and steal it, later reports had found. Hood was known to be suicidal, Hemmings had placed all his money into blood diamonds, and it was just a matter of time before the workers revolted and caused the collapse of the mine. Harry was certain Ethel Bittle was living in Argentina on a beach somewhere, no care in the world after having to deal with paparazzi and wanting an early retirement. Perhaps she never thought in a million years her children would kill for it, but they fought over the gem and let their avarice lead them to murder.  

There was nothing supernatural about the greed of man.

Simon went on as if he had never heard him.

“Alright, I’ll introduce everyone. The gentleman in the hoodie is Zayn, safe crack extraordinaire.  Most notable job is breaking into Fort Knox and stealing a single bullion for reasons unknown. Next is Liam, computer hacker. Responsible for the mass government leaks of Scotland Yard and the CIA.”

Both men flinched and looked worriedly at each other, obviously surprised Simon knew so much about their criminal history. History that never made it to the papers because it was the first time Harry had ever heard of either crime.

His heart nearly stopped when his own past was revealed casually,

“And Harry, who currently has the original Titian’s Achilles and Patroclus hanging in his living room as well as the real Senora Josefa Anchondo that is supposed to be in the National Portrait Gallery.”

Harry looked hard at Simon, wondering how on Earth the billionaire knew he had a Titian that most art scholars didn’t even know existed. Not to mention the Pratt currently hanging in the museum was a fake. It was unsettling to know that Simon was able to find out so much, that he wasn’t as stealthy and anonymous as he thought he was. What else did he know? Harry supposed he should just be thankful Simon wasn’t using surnames.

The three mentioned made sense as to what they were doing there. It would take a full team to be able to pull the job off, even with the top experts in their field, he had his doubts. He wondered what useful skill the blond brought and what crime he was famous for.

“And this is Niall, he’s my nephew and with me for the summer,” the wealthy man groused out, apparently put off with having to have the young man tag along and his inability to say “no” to his nagging sister.

That was all that was said. 

Looking from his impressive cheque to the remarkable, minus Niall, team gathered around him. He shrugged his shoulders, figuring a job was a job and it would be quite the extraordinary feather in his cap.

They were going to steal The Heart of the Sky.


End file.
